Steel cut for Fratelli Cosulich’s first methanol dual-fuel bunker tanker

Construction of the first methanol dual-fuel bunker tanker ordered by Italian maritime transportation group Fratelli Cosulich has begun in China.

On July 19, the steel cutting ceremony for the 7,990 dwt IMO Type II chemical vessel was held at Taizhou Maple Leaf Shipbuilding.

The vessel will have a capacity of over 8,000 cubic meters and will be able to carry both green methanol and biofuels.

The bunker tanker will be fitted with three MAN GenSets designed to run on methanol. The four-stroke engines will be part of a diesel-electric propulsion system, while an onboard battery storage system will optimize fuel consumption and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The vessel is scheduled for delivery in the last quarter of 2025 and will be located at the Port of Singapore under a fixed-rate time charter contract with global commodities trader Trafigura.

“With the steel cutting of this state of the art bunkering vessel, we mark an additional important step in our Group’s journey to decarbonization”, says Guido Cardullo, Head of Marine Energy.

Fratelli Cosulich placed an order for the construction of the bunker tanker at Taizhou Maple Leaf Shipbuilding in December 2023.

Earlier this month, the company said it had ordered two more 7,999 dwt IMO Type II methanol-ready chemical bunkering tankers at the same Chinese shipyard. The first of two methanol-ready vessels is scheduled for delivery in the first half of 2026.

Fratelli Cosulich’s fleet also includes twin small-scale LNG bunker vessels, Alice Cosulich and Paolina Cosulich, which are now fully operational.

Marta Cosulich, the company’s first IMO Type II chemical bunker vessel capable of delivering biofuel and methanol was built by the Chinese yard Zhejiang Shenzhou Sunshine Heavy Industry and delivered on May 9, 2024.